On Saturday, June 2 at 10:30AM, 464 undergraduate and 208 graduate students from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) received their diplomas at RISD’s 2018 Commencement. The ceremony took place at the Rhode Island Convention Center in downtown Providence, where the annual RISD Graduate Thesis Exhibition was also on view.

"Sophia", the newest advanced robot created by Alumni Award for Artistic Achievement honoree David Hanson 96 FAV, delivered the Keynote Address. Filling in for the Hanson Robotics founder and CEO, Sophia announced that Hanson was “not feeling well and [could not] travel the 12,843.85 kilometers from Hong Kong to Providence.” Instead, she served as a proxy for conveying his hopes for the 672 graduating students who accepted their well-earned degrees at the festive ceremony at the Rhode Island Convention Center. Legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz and renowned interdisciplinary artist Cai Guo-Qiang P 12 also attended the joyous event to accept honorary degrees for their distinguished bodies of work and contributions to contemporary art.